England's captain, Paul Collingwood, kisses the World Twenty20 trophy, the nation's first global title in cricket. Photograph: Rebecca Naden/PA

Every time I coach young cricketers I use Paul Collingwood as an example of the perfect role model. I have been working in Zimbabwe these past five days, giving batting master-classes to some of their elite squad. After one session I held a Q&A with Kevin Curran, the Under-19 coach, and some of his players. Kevin asked: "When I was in England I just couldn't see Paul Collingwood as much of a player. Why has he become so good?"

The answer, which was for the players' benefit rather than his own, is that Collingwood works hard and he has enormous character. You cannot put a limit on what a player with those two qualities can achieve for himself and his side.

I have seen so many talented players who lacked character, and you just know that they are never going to get near fulfilling their potential. That is why you should select a side on personality as much as on talent.

I was delighted to see Collingwood lift the World Twenty20 trophy on Sunday. All the more so because of who England beat in the final. Collingwood has taken knocks from Shane Warne and a few other Australian players over the years. But I know he has earned their respect now.

That is Collingwood's story all over. He has had so many knocks from so many different detractors through his career, from the journalists who slated him as a bits-and-pieces player when he was first picked for England, the sledging he got from Warne after the 2005 Ashes, and the criticism of his captaincy when he led the team in 2008. Back then, remember, he was banned for a slow over-rate and damned after refusing to withdraw an appeal for the run out of Grant Elliot after he collided mid-pitch with Ryan Sidebottom. Plenty of people said then that he was not captaincy material.

Now look at him. He has become the first Englishman to lead the team to a major limited-overs trophy. That is what I mean when I talk about character. Collingwood took the criticism, shrugged off all those slights and came out smiling. He is tough enough to ignore all that and just get on with enjoying his cricket. He and Andy Flower must get a lot of credit for what they have done in this last month. They picked players with little international experience and who a lot of pundits would never have had near the team, the likes of Mike Yardy and Michael Lumb. To have got that squad from where they were to where they are now is a heck of a job.

England selected on character, not just talent. And Collingwood has led from the front, not with the bat but with his attitude, which has rubbed off on the team. There are some very sound characters in that squad, and all of them clearly enjoy playing the game and were ready to get stuck in. Just look at their body language. You did not see anyone slouching around in the field thinking "what am I doing out here?" as you sometimes did in England teams of previous years. A lot of the other teams in this competition seemed to have players who were stuck in "give-me- the-money" mode. Not England.

Flower and Collingwood also got their formula right. They had three batsmen at the top with a licence to attack, and then Collingwood at No4 in the order who could come in and fix things and consolidate, followed by the intelligent Eoin Morgan and some power-hitters at the back end of the innings to take the game away from the opposition. The bowling attack, with the left-arm angle of Ryan Sidebottom and the combination of Graeme Swann's off-spin with Yardy's slow left-arm, had a balance and variation that was obviously at odds with some of the more staid sides.

England now have to carry that formula across into the 50-over game. They should stick with Lumb and Craig Kieswetter as opening batsmen. Kieswetter is quite a find, and while Lumb should have scored more fifties the two men often gave England the quick start they needed.

The one change I would make for the 50-over game is to bring in another consolidator in the middle order. Fortunately for England this is where Andrew Strauss fits in. I have always preferred Strauss as a middle-order player in limited-overs cricket, and that is where he should slot in to the team when he returns as captain.